Local Development Framework

In the next few months and years the Council will be preparing a Local Development Framework (LDF). This will replace the UDP in stages. It is intended to simplify the planning system and make it more responsive to people's needs and hopes for the future. An important aim of the new system is that people will have more opportunities to have a say in what goes into the LDF and what does not.

The LDF will be a folder containing several documents, please choose from the list on the right for more details.

• Local Development Scheme (LDS): The LDS could be seen as a contents page, with a timetable for preparing and reviewing each document in the LDF. The LDS will be subject to consultation with Government Office West Midlands and the Planning Inspectorate.
• Statement of Community Involvement (SCI): The SCI sets out the ways in which the council will invite local people, and others with an interest in the future of the borough, to help prepare the new LDF. It also shows how the council will consult people on planning applications.
• Annual Monitoring Report (AMR): The LDF also has to include an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR), which is to monitor progress in the preparation of the various documents for the LDF and the success in implementing planning policies and proposals. These will include the policies and proposals of the UDP until it is replaced by documents in the LDF. The AMR aims to identify which development plan and supplementary planning documents are in need of review and will feed into updating of the Local Development Scheme.
• Core Strategy: This will be the broad framework for planning in the borough for a period of 10 years or so. It will set out the general rules about where new development should and should not be located, but will not be so detailed as to allocate particular uses to particular sites on the ground. It will replace the policies in Part 1 of the UDP. It must comply with Government policy (mainly in Planning Policy Statements and Guidance Notes) and the Regional Spatial Strategy, which is under review.
• Land allocations: This LDF document will allocate particular uses to sites and areas. These will be shown on a map – the Proposals Map. These documents will show where different types of land use, for example houses, shops and warehouses, will be allowed and which parts of the Borough will be protected from development, for example as Green Belt or nature conservation areas.
• Development Control: This LDF document will set out a range of criteria based policies against which planning applications will be assessed within the Borough.
• Waste Management: This LDF document will set out detailed policies, including land allocations and development control policies, for existing and future wastemanagement activities.
• Area Action Plans: AAPs will cover parts of the Borough where growth or regeneration is needed. They can also be prepared for areas that are sensitive to change, such as areas of historic or architectural importance. These documents must also comply with the Core Strategy.

These documents, except for the LDS and AMR, will be examined by a Government Inspector to see whether they are sound. This will happen even if there are no objections to the document in question. The Inspector may decide that aspects of the document should be changed and his or her decisions will be binding. The SCI was subject to an examination in March 2006 where it was found to be sound. It was subsequently adopted by the council in June 2006.

Anyone who wants to make their views known and be involved in the preparation of any of these documents will be able to do so, and, if they are unhappy with any part of any draft document, will be able to present their views to the Inspector.

• Supplementary Planning Documents: The council may publish Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) to expand upon some of the policies in the UDP at present. SPDs will provide more detail; for example, they could explain how particular sites should be developed or they could guide provision of green spaces or affordable housing.

Supplementary Planning Documents are also part of the LDF and are subject to the same rules about public involvement, but are not  subject to examination by an Inspector. They therefore carry less weight than the policies themselves when decisions are made about whether to grant planning permission, for example.

Further information

The Walsall UDP and LDF documents are avaliable to download for free using the links provided. However, printed copies can be provided at a reasonable cost (see table below). Please note that payment is required prior to the document being sent. Payment can be accepted either via a cheque made payable to Walsall MBC or a credit or debit card. For Credit or debit card enquiries please contact (01922) 652446.

You can get more information from the Council's Regeneration Service (details on right of screen) or by visiting the CLG website where there is free access to many documents about the planning system in England, including law, regulation, process and policy. The Government's policy on how a LDF should be prepared is set out in Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Development Frameworks.

Contact us

Email LDF@walsall.gov.uk